Creative Industries Council

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport 
	(1)  on what dates the Creative Industries Council plans to meet;
	(2)  what matters will be on the agenda of the next meeting of the Creative Industries Council; and which Secretaries of State plan to attend;
	(3)  on how many occasions the Creative Industries Council is expected to meet between October 2011 and January 2012.

Edward Vaizey: The Creative Industries Council will meet once every six months between July 2011 and July 2012. The next meeting will take place on 24 January 2012, when the council will consider the findings and recommendations of the skills working group. That meeting will be attended by the council's co-chairs; the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, the right hon. Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable), and the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport, my right hon. Friend the Member for South West Surrey (Mr Hunt).

Creative Industries Council

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what the aims are of each group formed by the Creative Industries Council.

Edward Vaizey: At the first meeting of the council, members decided to take forward work on access to finance and skills through two time limited working groups. Detailed objectives for the skills working group can be found via the Skillset website. The access to finance working group are considering evidence on access to finance issues in order to identify recommendations to tackle barriers to growth in this area.

Creative Industries Council

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how many meetings he has had with the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills to discuss access to finance for businesses in the creative industries sector in the last 12 months; and whether an action plan was drawn up as a result of such meetings.

Edward Vaizey: The Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport, my right hon. Friend the Member for South West Surrey (Mr Hunt), has not met with the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, the right hon. Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable), specifically to discuss this issue. However, Access to Finance has been identified as a key barrier to growth by the Creative Industries Council and was discussed at the first meeting of the council. A working party has now been established under the council to take the issue forward, chaired by Ian Livingstone

Charity Commission: Independent Schools Council

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Attorney-General how many meetings (a) he and (b) officials in the Law Officers' departments have had with (i) the Charity Commission and (ii) the Independent Schools Council since May 2010; and if he will make a statement.

Dominic Grieve: I have not met with either the Charity Commission or the Independent Schools Council since May 2010. However, as Attorney-General I have a number of important public interest functions in respect of charity, some of which overlap with the regulatory powers of the Charity Commission. In consequence, officials from my office are in regular contact with officials from the Charity Commission. This is also true of those officials in the Treasury Solicitor's Department that provide my office with legal advice on policy and litigation support in charity matters. Those officials have not met with the Independent Schools Council.
	I am not aware of any meetings between the Charity Commission or the Independent Schools Council and officials of the Crown Prosecution Service, Serious Fraud Office or HM Crown Prosecution Inspectorate.
	A number of lawyers from the Treasury Solicitor's Department are permanently attached to other Government Departments including the Department for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport, Cabinet Office and the Department for Education. These Departments have dealings with the Charity Commission in its role as principal regulator of charities. The Department for Education also has dealings with the Independent Schools Council. I have not considered lawyers attached to these or other Departments as officials of the Law Officer Departments for the purposes of this answer.

Departmental Procurement

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Attorney-General how many meetings he has had with representatives of (a) social enterprises, (b) charities, (c) large private sector businesses and (d) small and medium-sized private sector businesses since May 2010; and if he will make a statement.

Dominic Grieve: I meet with a range of organisations and individuals in my ministerial role. Since May 2010 I have not had any meetings specifically with social enterprises or private sector businesses, however I have met with representatives from a number of charities both in my role as Government pro bono champion and as Attorney-General.

Departmental Buildings

Eilidh Whiteford: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what (a) building and (b) refurbishment projects his Department plans in (i) the current and (ii) the next financial year; and what the cost of each such project will be.

Bob Neill: DCLG's estates' strategy has seen a significant reduction in the size and cost of the DCLG estate. To build on our achievements over the last year the Department plans to consolidate its operations in Eland House. The project will further improve the Department's space efficiency and will ‘free-up’ further space that can be sub-let, generating income from additional tenancy receipts. The first phase of this project has commenced and will deliver DCLG further tenancy receipts of £1 million per annum from the end of financial year 2012-13. This part of the project is anticipated to cost £75,000.
	Over the first half of financial year 2011-12 DCLG was responsible for a series of projects relating to the closure of the Government office for the regions and the regional development agencies.
	All but one of these were purely staff moves into:
	(a) existing DCLG accommodation making use of existing surplus space from the abolition of the Government office for the regions.
	(b) more efficient and right-sized civil-estate accommodation for smaller teams in existing DCLG locations where lease-break opportunities enabled the surrender of larger, less flexible and more expensive ex-Government office for the regions estate.
	(c) new DCLG occupations in Sheffield, Truro and Exeter to meet the specific business-needs of the European Regional Development Fund teams in these locations. All three are existing buildings on the civil estate and Sheffield and Exeter were purely staff-moves into 'as is' accommodation.
	The new DCLG office at Lysnoweth House, Truro was the only one of these relocations that required ‘fit-out’ work which was done in partnership with Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs at a cost of £47,000 with all furniture reused from elsewhere in the DCLG estate.
	No other building and refurbishment projects are currently planned in this or financial-year 2012-13.
	Note
	Achieving these relocations in Manchester in April 2011, Nottingham July 2011 and Liverpool September 2011 cost DCLG circa £120,000 to complete, but will realise savings of circa £3 million per annum from the start of financial year 2012-13.

Departmental Land

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the monetary value of the maintenance backlog on his Department's estate in each of the last five years; and what estimate he has made of the time required to complete such maintenance.

Bob Neill: The Department for Communities and Local Government has both planned and reactive maintenance arrangements in place across its estate to ensure that the Department does not have a backlog of maintenance.
	The DCLG estate is maintained to ensure that it fulfils its leasehold, statutory and sustainable operations obligations. DCLG monitor supplier adherence to contractual obligations through active contract management and through service level agreement and key performance indicator reporting.

Empty Property: Witham

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many businesses are paying business rates on empty properties in each planning control class of use categorisation in (a)  Witham constituency, (b) Essex and (c) England; and what estimate he has made of the sums collected in such rates in the latest period for which figures are available.

Bob Neill: The Department does not collect data on the amount collected from businesses paying business rates on empty properties. Data are not available at constituency level or split by class of planning use categorisation.
	The total estimated number of empty hereditaments as at 31 March 2010, split by local authority, is available on the Department for Communities and Local Government website:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/statistics/xls/1972201.xls
	In addition to this, the number of hereditaments in receipt of empty property relief in England for 2011-12 is available on the Department for Communities and Local Government website:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/corporate/statistics/nondomesticrates201112f
	From these figures a broad estimate of businesses paying business rates on empty properties can be inferred as shown in the following table:
	
		
			 Inferred estimate of businesses paying business rates on empty properties 
			  Number of hereditaments  in receipt of empty  property relief as at  31 December 2010 Estimated number of empty properties as at  31 March 2011 Inferred estimate of businesses paying business rates on empty properties 
			 Essex—shire districts only 3,884 5,686 1,800 
			 Essex—including unitary authorities Southend-on-Sea and Thurrock 4,766 6,844 2,100 
			     
			 England 220,631 268,990 48,300 
			 Note: The number of hereditaments in receipt of empty property relief and the estimated number of empty properties are taken from different time periods Source: NNDR1 (Supplementary) Form2011-12; NNDR3 Form 2010-11 
		
	
	The data are as reported to Communities and Local Government by all billing authorities in England on National Non-Domestic Rates (NNDR3) and NNDR1 (Supplementary) forms.

Local Government: Pensions

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent estimate he has made of the number of local government employees likely to leave the local government pension scheme if the level of contributions is increased.

Bob Neill: Because the Local Government Pension Scheme is funded, it has been possible to design a scheme-specific approach to securing savings by 2014-15 to protect membership levels. A current statutory consultation exercise proposes increases in contribution tariffs in England and Wales involving either a 1% cent increase, or a 1.5% increase phased in over a three year period, commencing in April 2012, plus accrual rate adjustments for either one or two years.
	The terms of the options set out in the consultation proposals, issued on 7 October, specifically reflect the occupational and pay characteristics of the local government workforce and so provides total protection for all members earning less than £15,000, partial protection for those earning up to £21,000 and sets an overall limit of 6% on any increase in contributions.

Departmental Procurement

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many contracts her Department has awarded directly to (a) small, (b) medium-sized and (c) large businesses in each month since May 2010; what the value was of such contracts; and if she will make a statement.

David Jones: The Wales Office has not awarded any new contracts since May 2010.
	The Wales uses contracts awarded by larger Departments—such as the Ministry of Justice—to maximise buying power and value for money.

Departmental Security

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what steps her Department is taking to improve cyber-security in relation to her Department's estate; and if she will make a statement.

David Jones: The Government take cyber security very seriously and it has been categorised as a tier one threat to UK national security. £650 million is being invested over the next four years in a National Cyber Security Programme, working across Departments, with the private sector, international partners and citizens to improve the UK's cyber security capability.
	The Wales Office, as a small Department, obtains its IT services from the Ministry of Justice. The Ministry routinely assesses the prevailing threats to its ICT systems and applies appropriate and proportionate measures in accordance with the Government standards set out in the Cabinet Office's Security Policy Framework (SPF); these standards are aligned with industry best practice approaches.
	It is not in the interest of national security to make public details of particular improvements in relation to individual Departments as it may expose vulnerabilities to those who may seek to exploit them.

Cycling: Accidents

Simon Hart: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate her Department has made of the number of traffic accidents involving cyclists (a) wearing and (b) not wearing high-visibility clothing in the latest period for which figures are available.

Michael Penning: In 2010, there were 17,604 reported personal injury road accidents involving at least one pedal cyclists in Great Britain. The number of these accidents involving cyclists wearing or not wearing high-visibility clothing is not collected.
	However, under the STATS19 system, the Department collects information on reported injury road accidents where ‘cyclist wearing dark clothing at night’ was reported as a contributory factor to the accident by the attending police officer. The number of personal injury road accidents with this contributory factor for 2010 in Great Britain can be found in Table RAS50001 (Contributory factor article) of Reported Road Casualties in Great Britain: 2010. A copy of this table can be found using the following link:
	http://assets.dft.gov.uk/statistics/tables/ras50001.xls
	Please note that contributory factors are reported only for injury road accidents where a police officer attended the scene and reported at least one contributory factor. These factors are largely subjective, reflecting the attending officer's opinion at the time of reporting. It is recognised that subsequent inquires could lead to the reporting officer changing his/her opinion.
	It is important to note that it may be difficult for a police officer, attending the scene after an accident has occurred, to identify certain contributory factors.

Departmental Security

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps her Department is taking to improve cyber-security in relation to her Department's estate; and if she will make a statement.

Norman Baker: The Government take cyber security very seriously and this issue has been categorised as a tier one threat to UK national security. £650 million is being invested over the next four years in a National Cyber Security programme, working across Departments, with the private sector, international partners and others to improve the UK's cyber security capability.
	The Department for Transport routinely assesses the prevailing threats to its ICT systems and applies appropriate and proportionate measures in accordance with the Government standards set out in the Cabinet Office's Security Policy Framework (SPF). These standards are aligned with industry best practice approaches.
	As I am sure the hon. Member will recognise, it is not in the interest of national security to make public details of particular improvements in relation to individual Departments as it may expose vulnerabilities to those who may seek to exploit them.

Driving under Influence: Drugs

Jo Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what representations she has received on proposals to (a) introduce roadside drug testing devices and (b) increase sentences on people found guilty of driving whilst under the influence of drugs;
	(2)  if she will meet the family of Lillian Groves to discuss their campaign to introduce roadside drug testing devices and increase sentences on people found guilty of driving whilst under the influence of drugs.

Michael Penning: The Secretary of State for Transport, my hon. Friend the Member for Putney (Justine Greening), has not received any representations related to drug driving. I have received a number of representations on proposals to introducing drink and drug testing devices. The Government in their response to the North review committed to introduce a range of measures to combat drug driving including approving preliminary drug testing equipment initially in the police station and at the roadside as soon as possible.
	I will be happy to meet the family of Lillian Groves, to discuss their proposals.

Trams: Edinburgh

Lindsay Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when she last met the Scottish First Minister to discuss the Edinburgh tram project.

Norman Baker: holding answer 17 October 2011
	The Edinburgh tram project is a devolved matter for the Scottish Government. The Secretary of State for Transport, the hon. Member for Putney (Justine Greening), has not met the Scottish First Minister to discuss this project.

Departmental Manpower

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how many military assistants his Department has employed in each year since 2004;
	(2)  how much each military assistant received in salaries and benefits in each year since 2004.

Andrew Robathan: holding answer 18 October 2011
	Historical data on the number of military assistants (MAs) employed is not available without incurring disproportionate cost as this would require an interrogation of individual records. However, there are 119 MAs, or equivalent, currently in post working to personnel at two star level or above.
	The salary paid to individual MAs cannot be provided without an interrogation of individual records which would incur disproportionate cost. Every individual is paid in respect of their rank but also in respect of their seniority, personal skills and training which would require each individual's salary researched. There are no payable benefits open to MAs or the equivalent, although some personnel may accrue allowances due to their personal circumstances or trade/specialty. However the current salary ranges for those ranks who undertake MA roles are given in the following table as an indication of salaries received.
	
		
			 £ 
			 Rank Minimum Maximum 
			 Officer Level   
			 OF 6—Cdre/Brig/Air Cdre 97,030.20 100,963.56 
			 OF5—Capt/Col/Gp Capt 81,310.44 89,408.28 
			 OF4—Cdr/LtCol/WgCdr 67,031.64 77,617.20 
			 OF3—Lt Cdr/Maj/Sqn Ldr 47,760.48 57,199.56 
			 OF2—Lt/Capt/Flt Lt 37,915.92 45,090.48

Astrolabe Reef

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will discuss with her New Zealand counterpart the likely environmental effects of the recent accident near the Astrolabe Reef involving a Liberian-flagged ship.

Richard Benyon: DEFRA's role in responding to marine pollution emergencies is described in the National Contingency Plan for Marine Pollution from Shipping and Offshore Installations, which is maintained by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, Responses to maritime incidents need to be proportionate. Regional or national responses to maritime incidents involve the establishment of an Environment Group, which advises on environmental impacts and may initiate the collection of real time environmental data. If a marine pollution incident is expected to have a significant impact on the marine environment or the shoreline, arrangements are made to monitor and assess the impact in the longer term.
	Since the New Zealand oil spill does not affect UK shorelines and the cargo vessel involved is not UK registered, we have no plans at this stage to intervene.

Natural Gas

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will direct the Environment Agency to consider the implications of the (a) geology and (b) redundant mine-workings of the South Wales coalfields for shale gas exploration and hydraulic fracturing before the grant of any licence for exploitation or exploration.

Richard Benyon: This is a devolved issue for the Welsh Assembly Government to direct Environment Agency Wales, on the points raised.

Illegal Immigrants: Employment

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many foreign nationals were found to be working illegally in Birmingham Ladywood constituency in the last 12 months for which figures are available; and what steps her Department has taken in respect of such findings.

Damian Green: The records kept by the UK Border Agency show that during illegal working visits in the UK from September 2010 to August 2011 18,329 individuals were encountered, this figure includes those arrested. It is not possible to disaggregate these figures by constituency or county without incurring a disproportionate cost.
	Where individuals are found to be working illegally a decision on any further action is made on a case by case basis. A civil penalty of up to £10,000 per illegal worker may be imposed on employers found to be employing illegal workers.
	The figures provided are sourced from management information tools; they are not quality assured under National Statistics protocols and are subject to change.

Ministry of Defence Police and Guarding Agency

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether she has considered requesting that the Ministry of Defence Police should be deployed to support the territorial police forces.

Nick Herbert: The Ministry of Defence Police routinely provides security for key defence sites.
	Protocols are in place between the Ministry of Defence Police and the police forces in England and Wales to support their operations, where Defence security priorities allow. The Ministry of Defence police provides mutual aid to local police forces, particularly on specific police service operations, such as riots and demonstrations. For example, it provided mutual aid in London and York during the recent public disorder.

Police: Manpower

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers there were in each police authority area on the latest date for which figures are available; and how many of these in each area have had MAST public order training to each level.

Nick Herbert: holding answer 17 October 2011
	The available information shows the number of police officers in England and Wales, by police force area as at 31 March 2011 (full-time equivalent). This is shown in the following table.
	Information on the number of police officers which have received MAST public order training to each level is not collected centrally by the Home Office. Decisions on MAST training are for chief constables to take locally in conjunction with their police authority and, from November 2012, their elected police and crime commissioners (PCCs).
	
		
			 Police officer strength in England and Wales by police force area on  31 March 2011 
			 Police force All officers (FTE)  (1) 
			 Avon and Somerset 3,210 
			 Bedfordshire 1,214 
			 Cambridgeshire 1,398 
			 Cheshire 2,079 
			 Cleveland 1,655 
			 Cumbria 1,180 
			 Derbyshire 2,021 
			 Devon and Cornwall 3,436 
			 Dorset 1,452 
			 Durham 1,431 
			 Essex 3,577 
			 Gloucestershire 1,262 
			 Greater Manchester 7,791 
			 Hampshire 3,658 
			 Hertfordshire 2,048 
			 Humberside 1,952 
			 Kent 3,668 
			 Lancashire 3,448 
			 Leicestershire 2,211 
			 Lincolnshire 1,202 
			 London, City of 878 
			 Merseyside 4,297 
			 Metropolitan police 32,441 
			 Norfolk 1,598 
			 Northamptonshire 1,306 
			 Northumbria 4,102 
			 North Yorkshire 1,458 
			 Nottinghamshire 2,319 
			 South Yorkshire 2,888 
			 Staffordshire 2,079 
			 Suffolk 1,244 
			 Surrey 1,885 
			 Sussex 3,102 
			 Thames Valley 4,375 
			 Warwickshire 919 
			 West Mercia 2,251 
			 West Midlands 8,149 
			 West Yorkshire 5,536 
			 Wiltshire1,099  
			 Dyfed-Powys 1,157 
			 Gwent 1,501 
			 North Wales 1,530 
			 South Wales 3,100 
			 Total 43 forces 139,110 
			 (1) This and other tables contain full-time equivalent figures that have been rounded to the nearest whole number. Because of rounding, there may be an apparent discrepancy between totals and the sums of the constituent items.

Abortion

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the timetable is for his Department's planned consultation on abortion policy.

Anne Milton: The Department will carry out to a public consultation on independent abortion counselling. We are currently developing proposals for consultation including the timetable for introduction. We intend to work with experts in the field and other interested parties to develop these proposals.

Health Visitors

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many health visitors have sought training in (a) children's wellbeing, (b) children's emotional development, (c) parenting and (d) the importance of attachment between parent and child as part of their continuous professional development in each of the last five years;
	(2)  what guidance and training is provided to health visitors on children's emotional development, wellbeing, attachment and parenting; and if he will make a statement.

Anne Milton: This information is not held centrally.
	Where aggregation of data relating to the professional development of health visitors does take place, it would be carried out at local level by primary care trusts.
	The National Health Visitor Programme has identified the need to educate the new entrants to the profession to deliver the new health visiting services. Children's emotional development, wellbeing, attachment and parenting are recommended areas of theory, knowledge and skills for practice, set out in the Department's “Educating Health Visitors for a Transformed Service”(1) document and included in the health visitor education programme.
	(1) Published by Department of Health, August 2011.
	A copy of the document has been placed in the Library.
	The Health Visitor Programme has also identified the need to develop and refresh the current workforce to provide leadership in delivery of the new service and to have the opportunity to extend and refresh clinical practice skills through national and local programmes. The Professional Mobilization work stream has provided direct Continuing Professional Development (CPD) and support to local services to deliver CPD.
	Clinical leaders estimate around 2,000 health visitors have been engaged in nationally run and/or supported events, including three events run in partnership with the NHS Institute. All programme evaluations have aimed to provide the strategic and leadership framework and to promote access to programmes such as:
	a number of e-learning modules that support delivery of the Healthy Child Programme that are accessible to health visitors online;
	a development programme for the health visitor early implementer sites encompassing leadership training, new models of practice, general and bespoke support; and
	a ‘Building Community Capacity’ project tested by health visitors and school nurses in the early implementer sites, with national roll-out next year.
	All events have evaluated very well with health visitors being engaged with the developments. Additionally, professional organisations have provided learning opportunities through events and clinical articles in Journals.
	Guidance on appropriate training and development is available locally in provider organisations and will often form the basis of appraisal discussions.

Health Visitors

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to incorporate the advice contained in Educating Health Visitors for a Transformed Service into the continuous professional development of health visitors; and if he will make a statement.

Anne Milton: “Educating Health Visitors for a Transformed Service”(1) provides guidance for education commissioners and higher education institutions (HEIs), to assist with alignment of health visiting courses with the new service vision for health visiting as set out in the “Health Visitor Implementation Plan 2011-15: A Call to Action”. Copies of both documents have already been placed in the Library.
	The guidance was produced by the Department, in collaboration with partners, including the Council of Deans, the United Kingdom Standing Conference, the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), the Community Practitioners and Health Visitors Association, and higher education commissioners and institutions. It supports the NMC standards, and serves as a useful framework for education providers seeking to reflect the new vision in their courses.
	The Department recommends that commissioners and higher education institutions consider the range of topics provided by the guidance when reviewing their programmes to ensure that health visitors are equipped with appropriate theory, knowledge and skills to deliver the new service on completion of training. The guidance specifically prompts both HEIs and commissioners to focus on how they will work closely with community practice teachers and mentors in supporting students, it also suggests close working with strategic health authorities, so as to identify and increase the range of high quality clinical placements.
	Guidance on appropriate training and development is available locally in provider organisations and will often forming the basis of appraisal discussions.
	(1 )Published by Department of Health, August 2011

Incontinence: Medical Equipment

Peter Aldous: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what recent assessment his Department has made of the effect of Part IX of the Drug Tariff on patient choice of urology and stoma products;
	(2)  what recent assessment he has made of the price variation in primary care for urology and stoma products.

Anne Milton: We have made no assessment of the effect of Part IX of the Drug Tariff on patient choice of urology and stoma products.
	We have made no assessment of price variation in primary care for urology and stoma products. For national health service prescriptions dispensed in primary care dispensing contractors are reimbursed according to the Drug Tariff. The Drug Tariff sets out Secretary of State determinations, which apply nationally; of the amounts pharmacy and appliance contractors will be paid for dispensing NHS prescriptions.

Nurses: Foreign Workers

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to ensure testing of the language and competence of nurses who have trained within the European Economic Area and Switzerland.

Anne Milton: Systematic testing of the language knowledge of health care professionals at the point of registration is contrary to European law. However, nurses work in an employed environment and their employers can and should ensure that any nurse appointed is able and competent to carry out their duties effectively. This must include their overall competency for the role and more specifically their ability to communicate to the required standard.
	The Department recognises that there are wide spread concerns about this issue, and we are in discussions with the Nursing and Midwifery Council about whether any steps can be taken to strengthen local checks on nurses.

Children: Maintenance

Sheila Gilmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what discussions he has had with the Scottish Government Ministers on providing additional resources for mediation services in Scotland to support separating parents to reach voluntary arrangements for child maintenance should the provisions of the Welfare Reform Bill on child maintenance become law.

Maria Miller: The Government recognise that family support is a devolved matter and we are working closely with Scottish Government colleagues to look at implications for family support services in Scotland.
	Our proposals for family support outlined in the Green Paper are about making it easier for families to access the support that currently exists and that many organisations offer separating and separated parents. However this system of support is seen by some families as complicated to navigate and we need to better understand how best and what aspects of this support to co-ordinate.
	We will continue to work closely with other Government Departments, including the Department for Education, the Ministry for Justice and the Department of Health. We are also working to ensure that this work is aligned with that of the Family Justice Review.
	As I clarified at the Work and Pensions Select Committee on 15 June mediation is only one approach that we are exploring. Mediation can be very expensive to administer and may not be the most appropriate support for all families. Families require differing support depending on their circumstances, and that is why we are already working with the voluntary and community sector in order to understand what forms of existing support are most effective in helping parents work collaboratively to establish enduring co-parenting arrangements.
	In addition, an expert Steering Group has been established to help us to consider the most appropriate delivery model at local and national level in order to support consistency of provision across local areas, while also evaluating the resources that are already in place to ensure the system as a whole functions to direct parents to the support they need.

Children: Maintenance

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what (a) research and (b) analysis was undertaken by his Department on the effect different levels of charges levied on parents with care and non-resident parents under the new statutory child maintenance system would have on (i) the behaviour of non-resident parents and (ii) the behaviour of parents with care; and whether he plans to publish the findings of such research and analysis.

Maria Miller: The Government are considering a range of options on charging and further details will be published when the Government consults on the draft regulations. Impact assessments accompanying the draft regulations will set out the estimated effects on volumes and individuals who will be affected by the proposed new charges.

Children: Maintenance

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate his Department has made of the (a) start up and (b) ongoing administrative costs arising from (i) charging and collection of application fees from parents with care, (ii) charging and collection of ongoing fees from parents with care using the Commission's collection service and (iii) the charging and collection of ongoing fees from non-resident parents where the Commission's collection service is used.

Maria Miller: The costs associated with the introduction of charging for users of the statutory maintenance service are included within the overall cost of developing the new statutory scheme, and it is not possible to isolate these costs separately. Similarly, it is not possible to isolate the ongoing costs of charging as charging will be included as an intrinsic part of the processes of the new scheme.

Children: Maintenance

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has for charges for low income parents using the new statutory child maintenance system following the introduction of universal credit.

Maria Miller: The detailed interactions between the current and future child maintenance schemes and universal credit are in the process of being developed. As part of this, we are specifically considering how receipt of universal credit will interrelate to the proposed charges for parents using the future child maintenance scheme.
	The Government are considering a range of options on charging and further details will be published when the Government consult on the draft regulations.

Kinship Carers

Fiona O'Donnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has to improve support for kinship carers.

Maria Miller: Kinship carers can be eligible for a range of benefits. If they are approved foster carers, they can receive a fostering allowance in England and Wales or kinship care allowance in Scotland. If they are not approved, kinship carers may be entitled to child benefit, either child tax credits or pension credits, and any other benefits available to parents, subject to the standard eligibility criteria. In order to prevent double provision, these benefits are not provided where the child is formally looked after by the local authority and their accommodation or maintenance is provided from public funds.
	We are currently considering support for families under universal credit, including support for kinship carers.
	In addition, statutory .guidance for local authorities on family and friends care was issued in March 2011. In particular, it sets out a requirement on local authorities to develop equitable and transparent policies for delivering effective services to kinship carers across the range of legal arrangements which underpin family and friends care.

Social Security Benefits

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the effect of changes to (a) housing benefit and (b) council tax benefit on the working age population, broken down by those (i) in and (ii) out of work in (A) 2012 and (B) 2013; and if he will make a statement.

Steve Webb: The Department has commissioned a consortium of academics and research organisations led by Ian Cole, professor of housing studies at Sheffield Hallam university to undertake an independent review of the impact of the housing benefit measures introduced last month. The work will cover both in-work and out of work housing benefit claimants and is longitudinal in nature so will re-visit respondents a year after initial interviews.
	The Department for Communities and Local Government, the Scottish Government and Welsh Assembly Government are working in close partnership with the DWP and contributing to the costs of the review.
	A copy of the available impact assessments on those in-work and out of work has been placed in the Library.

Social Security Benefits

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the total monetary value of benefits that are unclaimed for each type of benefit in the last year for which figures are available.

Chris Grayling: For the six income-related benefits for which estimates are available there was between £6,930 million and £12,700 million left unclaimed in 2008-09; this compared to £38,110 million that was claimed and represents take-up by expenditure of between about 75% and 85%. The information by benefit is in the following table.
	
		
			 £ million 
			  Unclaimed benefit 
			 Benefit Lower Upper 
			 Income support/Employment and support allowance 590 1,630 
			 Pension credit 1,630 2,930 
			 Housing benefit 1,780 3,410 
			 Council tax benefit 1,490 2,150 
			 Jobseeker's allowance (income based) 1,450 2,580 
			 Notes:  1. These statistics are from the National Statistics publication “Income Related Benefits Estimates of Take-Up in 2008-09” and are available via the following link http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/index.php?page=irb They refer to private households in Great Britain and exclude the full-time self-employed.  2. Take-up estimates are presented as ranges within which it can be assumed true take-up lies. These robust “ranges of true take-up” account for possible biases that arise in estimating take-up from the available data sources. These ranges also account for the effects of sampling variation (otherwise known as sampling error). Care should be taken when interpreting take-up statistics. For instance, if the upper limit of a caseload take-up range is 90%, this does not necessarily mean that at least 10% never take up their entitlement. This is because some of the shortfall in take-up may represent a delay in claiming benefit that is eventually received.  Source:  Income Related Benefits Estimates of Take-Up in 2008-09.

Departmental Procurement

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many contracts his Department has awarded directly to third sector organisations in each month since May 2010; what the value was of such contracts; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen O'Brien: The number and total value of contracts awarded directly to third sector organisations by the Department for International Development's (DFID) central procurement department since May 2010 are provided in the following table:
	
		
			  Number Total value (£ million) 
			 October 2010 1 0.1 
			 November 2010 1 8.3 
			 December 2010 2 4.0 
			 January 2011 1 7.5 
			 February 2011 3 8.5 
			 March 2011 3 7.5 
			 May 2011 1 3.0 
			 June 2011 1 7.5 
			 August 2011 2 2.8 
		
	
	The above data relates specifically to supplier type contracts issued to third sector organisations. DFID apply the EU principles of open and fair procurement to supplier contracts, with all competitions carried out in line with the EU directives.
	DFID provided £329 million of funding to UK civil society organisations in 2010-11 through other types of arrangement.

Departmental Security

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps his Department is taking to improve cyber-security in relation to his Department's estate; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen O'Brien: Government takes cyber security very seriously and it has been categorised as a tier one threat to UK national security. £650 million is being invested over the next four years in a National Cyber Security Programme, working across Departments, with the private sector, international partners and citizens to improve the UK's cyber security capability.
	Department for International Development routinely assesses the prevailing threats to its ICT systems and applies appropriate and proportionate measures in accordance with the Government standards set out in the Cabinet Office's Security Policy Framework (SPF); these standards are aligned with industry best practice approaches.
	It is not in the interest of national security to make public details of particular improvements in relation to individual Departments as it may expose vulnerabilities to those who may seek to exploit them.

Developing Countries: Infant Mortality

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent progress he has made towards meeting the Millennium Development Goal of reducing the under-five mortality rate to two-thirds of 1990 levels by 2015.

Andrew Mitchell: Between 1990 and 2008, the death rate for children under five decreased by 28%. Worldwide this means 10,000 fewer under-five deaths every day. However, 7.6 million children still die every year and over 350,000 women lose their lives unnecessarily from complications with pregnancy and childbirth. The UK is committed to supporting the UN "Every Women Every Child" Global Strategy on Women's and Children's Health to accelerate progress on improving maternal and child health. Our Framework for Results; ‘Choices for women: Planned pregnancies, safer births and healthy newborns’ sets out the UK contribution to this strategy. We will save the lives of 50,000 mothers and 250,000 newborn children in poor countries by 2015. UK support to GAVI over the next five years will enable them to vaccinate over 80 million children and save 1.4 million lives.
	The UN published an interim progress report in September 2011. ‘Saving the Lives of 16 Million’ showed enhanced commitment, with increased funding and improved policies and services strengthened on the ground. In addition, more than 100 new partners including Governments, civil society and multilateral organisations, joined the initiative, bringing the total to more than 200.

Third Sector

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much direct funding his Department has allocated to each civil society organisation in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12, (c) 2012-13, (d) 2013-14 and (e) 2014-15; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen O'Brien: The Department for International Development (DFID) supports Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) through a range of centrally managed funds and through country programmes. Details of funding provided to UK based CSOs in 2010-11 can be found in Table 19 of “Statistics on International Development” 2011. This is available in the Library of the House and on the DFID website
	www.dfid.gov.uk
	Details of funding provided to CSOs in 2011-12 will be published in the next “Statistics on International Development” in 2012.
	The UK Government introduced the Aid Transparency Guarantee in 2010-11, which commits DFID to making all aid spend fully transparent to citizens in the UK and developing countries, increasing accessibility and feedback. As a result, full details of all DFID funded projects, including those delivered by CSOs, can be found on the project database on DFID's website:
	http://www.dfid.gov.uk/About-us/How-we-measure-progress/DFID-spend
	DFID is also encouraging International Organisations and CSOs to make similar commitments.

Duchy of Lancaster: Income

Stephen Phillips: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the income was to the Duchy of Lancaster from property escheating to the Dukedom in each of the last 10 years.

Francis Maude: Receipts to the Duchy of Lancaster from Escheat for the last 10 years is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Escheat receipts from sales (£) 
			 2001-02 4,870 
			 2002-03 4,200 
			 2003-04 8,101 
			 2004-05 23,130 
			 2005-06 2,350 
			 2006-07 62 
			 2007-08 68,290 
			 2008-09 29,028 
			 2009-10 171,699 
			 2010-11 0

Voter Registration

Chris Ruane: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much his Department spent on steps to encourage voter registration in each of the last five years; and how much funding he plans to allocate for such purposes in each of the next four years. [Official Report, 9 November 2011, Vol. 535, c. 1MC.]

Mark Harper: Electoral registration is the responsibility of individual Electoral Registration Officers (EROs). Local authorities have a duty to encourage participation in the electoral process and the Electoral Commission promotes public awareness of registration and produces research and reports on electoral registration issues. Electoral registration activity at the local level is funded through the Revenue Support Grant from central Government.
	The Ministry of Justice (responsible for elections policy until June 2010) provided funding through the Electoral Participation Fund set up in 2007-08 to support local electoral officers in undertaking their statutory duties. The following funds were provided from the Participation Fund: £934,742 in 2007-08, £544,392 in 2008-09 and £153,895 in 2009-10. A further £67,355 was spent in 2010-11 to support activities undertaken by electoral administrators to encourage participation at the elections which were held on 6 May 2010, but approved in the previous financial year. The Participation Fund was closed in the Emergency Budget of 22 June 2010.
	The Government have allocated a total of £108 million to meet the cost of implementing Individual Electoral Registration. This will fund EROs to make contact with each potential elector individually and invite them to register in 2014. It will also fund research to understand the current state of the electoral register and currently under-registered groups in order to ensure that as many people as possible are registered to vote. This year the Government are funding the piloting of 'data matching' of electoral registers against other data sources, such as the National Pupil Database and the Department for Work and Pensions database, to identify possible eligible electors, as well as looking at the ways in which we can make it as easy and secure as possible for citizens to register to vote, such as online registration.

Electoral Registration

Chris Ruane: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what estimate he has made of the change in the level of electoral registration arising from the introduction of individual voter registration in Northern Ireland; and what estimate he has made of the potential effects on the level of voter registration of the introduction of individual voter registration in the rest of the UK.

Mark Harper: Data on the levels of electoral registration over the period following transition to Individual Electoral Registration in Northern Ireland have been published by the Electoral Commission and are available at:
	http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/publications-and-research/policy-and-research?query=&meta_s_phrase=Electoral_ register&meta_C=Northern+lreland&meta_dyear=&sort= relevancy&daat=on
	The Government will do everything they can to maintain the completeness of the electoral register during the transition to Individual Registration in Great Britain. This includes learning from the experience in Northern Ireland in formulating our plans for the transition, such as phasing the transition in over two years, allowing electors who do not apply under the new system in 2014 to be carried forward so they retain their vote at the 2015 general election. Every eligible elector will be asked in 2014 to register under the new system: this will include personal invites to people on the register, inquiries to households where no one is registered or people have moved, reminder letters and face to face doorstep canvassers. There will be a publicity campaign run by the Electoral Commission. We are also testing data matching to identify people missing from the register and looking at how we can increase the choices people have over how to register—including greater use of online registration.
	The Government are also funding research to understand the current state of the electoral register. This will help us to better understand the way in which the move to Individual Electoral Registration will have an impact. Further research will be conducted with currently under-registered groups in order to ensure that as many people as possible are registered to vote, and to assist the transition to Individual Electoral Registration.

Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his policy is on the security of Afghan interpreters who have worked with UK armed forces after the withdrawal of those forces in 2014; what policy was applied in respect of the security of Iraqi interpreters following the withdrawal of UK forces from Iraq; how many (a) Afghan and (b) Iraqi interpreters (i) have been and (ii) will be allowed to relocate in the UK; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: The Government take their responsibility for all members of staff seriously and have put in place measures to reduce the risks they face.
	The Foreign and Commonwealth Office follows a cross-Government policy for considering cases of local staff intimidation or injury in Afghanistan on a case by case basis. The policy ensures that we take into account the individual circumstances of each case and allows us to decide a proportionate response. It covers all locally-employed staff, including interpreters.
	Where staff face a serious threat our response might include providing protected accommodation, giving safety advice to staff and their families, granting extended leave or transferring staff to different jobs. In serious cases we may help staff relocate, either within Afghanistan, to a third country, or, in exceptional cases, to the UK. We have relocated one member of staff (not an interpreter) from Afghanistan to the UK.
	This policy is tailored to circumstances in Afghanistan. We keep this policy under review. Those who put their lives on the line for the UK will not be abandoned.
	Statements made by the former Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth
	Affairs, the right hon. Member for South Shields (David Miliband), on 9 October 2007, Official Report, columns 27-28WS, and 30 October 2007, Official Report, columns 30-33WS, set out the policy of the Government towards their locally employed staff in Iraq. These schemes (known as “Gateway” or “Direct Entry”) allowed both serving and former staff in Iraq to apply for an assistance package, one option of which allowed staff who qualified under the terms of the scheme to relocate to the UK. These schemes are now closed. A statement from the former Secretary of State on 23 March 2009, Official Report, columns 4-6WS, and a statement by the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), on 16 September 2010, Official Report, columns 57-58WS, gave further details.
	Of those employees who chose the option of relocating to the UK, 293 (760 including dependants) have settled in the UK to date. A further 78 people (407 including dependants) have extant applications to relocate that are being considered. The Iraq scheme applied to all local staff including interpreters.

Departmental Procurement

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many contracts his Department has awarded directly to (a) small, (b) medium-sized and (c) large businesses in each month since May 2010; what the value was of such contracts; and if he will make a statement.

David Lidington: For the financial year 2010-11, of the businesses that we are able to classify, £71 million was paid to small or micro enterprises, £24.7 million was paid to medium sized enterprises and the balance of £173 million was paid to large enterprises. No information is available on the number of contracts.

Departmental Security

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps his Department is taking to improve cyber-security in relation to his Department's estate; and if he will make a statement.

David Lidington: The Government take cyber security very seriously and it has been categorised as a tier one threat to UK national security. An additional £650 million is being invested over the next four years in a National Cyber Security Programme, working across Departments, with the private sector, international partners and citizens to improve the UK's cyber security capability.
	The Foreign and Commonwealth Office routinely assesses the prevailing threats to its Information, Communication Technology systems and applies appropriate and proportionate measures in accordance with the government standards set out in the Cabinet Office's Security Policy Framework (SPF); these standards are aligned with industry best practice approaches.
	It is not in the interest of national security to make public details of particular improvements in relation to individual Departments as it may expose vulnerabilities to those who may seek to exploit them.

Tzipi Livni

Julian Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on what date it was agreed that the recent visit of Tzipi Livni should be given Special Mission status; and on what grounds the decision was made.

Alistair Burt: In relation to the visit to the UK by the Leader of the Opposition of Israel, Mrs Livni, on 5-6 October 2011, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend, the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), agreed on 27 September 2011 that she should visit the UK in order to discuss matters of mutual interest in relations between Israel and the UK. Detailed arrangements for the visit were then agreed between the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and the embassy of Israel.
	In FCO practice, there are no prescribed formalities for consenting to a special mission, but such consent may be inferred from the circumstances of any given visit. The decision for special mission status for each visit is treated on its own merits.

Off-grid Households

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what progress he is making on ensuring that off-grid households have access to affordable heating fuels in the winter of 2011-12.

Charles Hendry: The Office of Fair Trading published its study into the off-grid energy market on Tuesday 18 October 2011, found that action is needed to protect heating oil consumers in some areas.
	Ahead of next winter, the Department has been working with industry and consumer groups, in a national campaign, to encourage customers to order early and ensure they are well prepared for winter. We have also reminded terminal operators to ensure that they have sufficient salt to maintain access to their depots in the event of snow and ice over the coming winter.

Domestic Energy Prices

Albert Owen: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent discussions he has had with the six largest energy companies on recent trends in domestic energy prices; and if he will make a statement.

Charles Hendry: DECC Ministers and officials meet suppliers and others on a regular basis to discuss market issues. The Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, my right hon. Friend the Member for Eastleigh (Chris Huhne), chaired a consumer summit on Monday 17 October 2011 to launch the 'check, switch, insulate to save' campaign and a package of measures to help consumers this winter. We are working with consumer groups, energy suppliers and the regulator Ofgem to ensure consumers know how to save money on their energy bills by checking on their energy deal, switching their supplier if appropriate and insulating their homes.

Emissions: SMEs

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assistance his Department provides to small and medium-sized businesses to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.

Charles Hendry: There are a number of government policies which support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The Green Deal for example, will be available to SMEs when it is launched next year. It will enable them to improve the energy efficiency of their properties, thereby reducing carbon emissions and energy costs. The Green Deal will also drive demand for energy efficiency products and services from which SMEs will be able to benefit.

Clair Ridge Oil Project

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change with reference to the Prime Minister's announcement of 13 October 2011, on the Clair Ridge oil project, what steps he is taking to ensure that apprenticeship opportunities for young people form part of the contract.

Charles Hendry: It would not be appropriate for the UK Government to seek to insert specific clauses into contracts. This work will give rise to significant opportunities to young workers and opportunities for businesses throughout the UK.
	BP continues to recruit and train numerous new recruits; this year more than 400 vacancies have been filled of which 75 were young graduates and apprentices. They are also strong supporters of the Industry Technician training scheme which takes on around 150 school leavers every year as apprentice technicians and puts them through a three-year training programme.
	At its peak the total investments of BP and its partners in these developments will support some 3,000 UK oil and gas supply chain jobs, and will help safeguard employment for BP's North sea work force of over 3,500 people.

Clair Ridge Oil Project

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change with reference to the Prime Minister's announcement of 13 October 2011, on the Clair Ridge oil project, what steps he plans to take to ensure that (a) firms and (b) workers from (i) the UK, (ii) the north-east and (iii) other English regions will be awarded work on the project.

Charles Hendry: The Clair Ridge projects represents some £4.5 billion of investment, of which 53% will come to the UK and will be divided among a spectrum of companies throughout the supply chain located in all parts of the country.
	It should be noted the BP overall investment plan which included the Devenick development had 72% UK content and Kinnoull with 92% spend in the UK. In particular modules for these are being fabricated in McNulty yard in South Shields, Methill, Invergordon and Wick in Scotland, i.e. a good spread throughout the UK.
	BP have also highlighted that around 50 UK registered companies have already won Clair Ridge contracts. They have also announced on 17 October that AMEC, a UK based company, has been awarded a £150 million contract for engineering on the Clair Ridge project.

Energy Supply: Prices

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps his Department is taking to encourage energy companies to extend their offer of the Warm Home Discount to a greater number of eligible customers.

Gregory Barker: The overall spending target for the Warm Home Discount Scheme is set out in Schedule 1 of the Warm Home Discount Regulations 2011 (2011/1033) and is £1.1 billion over the four years of the scheme (2011-12 to 2014-15). This represents a significant increase in activity and funding on the 2008-10 voluntary agreement between the six major energy supply companies and Government which was worth £375 million over three years.
	2011-12 is the first year of the Warm Home Discount Scheme. Government are working with the energy suppliers to implement the scheme, and expects that around 2 million households will receive direct help this year. Over 600,000 of these will be pensioners in receipt of pension credit guarantee credit only, who will receive an automatic rebate on their electricity bill of £120 this winter. In addition, a 'Broader Group' such as low income families and those with long term illnesses and disabilities may also receive this discount, with £3 million available for Broader Group expenditure in 2011-12. To ensure a smooth transition from the previous Voluntary Agreement, £140 million has been allocated for Legacy Spending in 2011-12, for suppliers to continue to provide discounted and social tariffs.
	The level of expenditure will increase with each scheme year. The Broader Group expenditure will rise to £47 million in 2012-13, as spending on legacy tariffs decreases, and £90 million in 2014-15. The numbers assisted automatically through the Core Group will also increase in future years as eligibility expands to include those on the savings element of pension credit. Expenditure increases from £97 million in 2011-12 to £l90 million in 2014-15.
	Electricity suppliers may provide other rebates or assistance to their customers, but any such expenditure cannot be counted as part of their funding for the Scheme.

Feed-in Tariffs

James Wharton: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what his policy is on the payment of a feed-in tariff for renewable energy equipment supported by grant funding and contracted for installation before but not installed by 1 October 2011.

Gregory Barker: The Feed in Tariffs (Specified Maximum Capacity and Functions) Order 2011 provides that a grant made before 1 July 2011 towards an installation first commissioned before 1 October 2011 could be eligible for feed-in tariffs (FITs) and grant in combination providing it meets the requirements under de minimis regulations.
	Therefore, in instances where grant funding is received and the installation is contracted but not commissioned before 1 October 2011, the installation would not be eligible for FITs.

Government Procurement Card

Charlie Elphicke: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the (a) date of purchase, (b) amount, (c) supplier and (d) level 3 or enhanced transaction entry was of each transaction undertaken by his Department using the Government Procurement Card from its creation to May 2010.

Gregory Barker: The full answer to this question could be provided only at disproportionate cost because of the large number of transactions that would need to be reviewed before publication and changes to the format in which data for past periods is held. I am able to provide details of transactions over £500 for the period from December 2009 to May 2010. These are too extensive to include in this response and will be deposited in the Libraries of the House.
	For the financial year 2011-12, the Government have decided to make public details of GPC transactions over £500. Data for the first quarter covering April to June 2011 is now available from the DECC website.

Nuclear Installations

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what evaluation work has been undertaken within the generic design assessment process for prospective new nuclear reactors on (a) control of reactivity, (b) post-trip cooling, (c) containment, (d) severe accident management and (e) spent fuel storage.

Charles Hendry: The Generic Design Assessment (GDA) is an independent review by the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) and the Environment Agency (the Regulators) to ensure that the proposed new nuclear reactor designs for the UK are safe, secure and protect the environment. The regulators publish quarterly progress reports that summarise the progress made to assess and evaluate a comprehensive range of technical areas, including control of reactivity, post trip cooling, containment, severe accident management, and spent fuel storage. The latest quarterly report was published on the ONR website on 14 July 2011 and mentions, for the first time, the outstanding GDA issues, based on the completion of ONR's planned assessment. All the issues must be cleared to both regulators' satisfaction before ONR grants consent to start construction of reactor buildings at a nuclear licensed site.
	The regulators' assessment, described in the July progress report, excludes any findings from the review conducted by Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Nuclear Installations into the nuclear incident that took place in March 2011 at Fukushima, Japan. This is because the regulators' assessment was completed before this incident. The consequences of the Fukushima incident will be addressed through a separate GDA issue, to which the industry has yet to respond. It will also need clearing to the regulators' satisfaction as one of the suite of identified GDA issues.
	ONR's quarterly reports are available on
	www.hse.gov.uk/newreactors/quarterly-updates.htm

Nuclear Installations

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the implications for public safety of the potential for coincident damage to both a nuclear facility and an off-site technical support centre arising from a significant nuclear accident involving release of radiation.

Charles Hendry: The probability of coincident damage to both a nuclear facility and off-site technical support centre is considered remote, given that there is considerable distance between the locations of the reactor sites and the support centres. However, the UK's nuclear emergency response arrangements, which consider the implications for public safety, are kept under review by the Department of Energy and Climate Change, with support from the Office for Nuclear Regulation and the multi agency Nuclear Emergency Planning Liaison Group.
	The on site nuclear emergency response at civil nuclear reactor sites (operational and being decommissioned) is supported by an off-site technical Central Emergency Support Centre. This is many miles away from the nearest sites it supports. In the very unlikely event of coincident damage, the site operators can call upon technical expertise from other locations including their unaffected nuclear sites.
	The on-site nuclear emergency response at Sellafield is also supported by an off-site technical centre and a number of remote alternative facilities.
	However, in the light of the lessons learned from the Fukushima incident, a programme to strengthen the current arrangements is being developed by DECC which will deliver tangible improvements over several years.

USA

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when he plans to publish the details of gifts, hospitality and expenses received by the Minister for Climate Change during his visit to the US in March 2011.

Gregory Barker: holding answer 18 October 2011
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave her on 26 April 2011, Official Report, column 58W. I received no gifts above the recordable threshold, nor claimed any expenses.

Departmental Fines

Eilidh Whiteford: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many transport-related fines his Department and its predecessors have settled on behalf of its staff in each year since 2007; and at what cost.

Tim Loughton: The Department's Travel and Subsistence policy clearly states that it is entirely the responsibility of employees to pay any transport related fines they occur on official business.
	There is no evidence held centrally to indicate that the Department has settled any transport-related fines on behalf of its staff since 2007. To provide absolute confirmation of this could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Business: Finance

Damian Hinds: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the total amount of capital that has been made available to (a) individual or household focused community development finance institutions (CDFIs), (b) business-focused CDFIs, (c) voluntary sector focused CDFIs, (d) hybrid CDFIs and (e) any other category of CDFI or other institution through investments attracting Community Investment Tax Relief.

Mark Prisk: I have been asked to reply.
	The Government do not hold information on the breakdown of community investment tax relief (CITR) accredited community development finance institutions' (CDFI) wider portfolios and therefore cannot provide the information requested.
	However, no investments can be raised under CITR by CDFIs undertaking solely personal lending (investments attracting CITR must be onward lent to businesses, including social enterprises). CDFIs have reported raising around £83 million under CITR since the scheme began. We believe that approximately £13 million of this has been raised by CDFIs who lend to a wide range of businesses and £69 million by CDFIs specialising in lending to social enterprises.
	The Government announced in Budget 2011 their intention to continue the scheme and to this end that they would renotify CITR to the European Commission and consult in advance of renotification on how the scheme can be made more effective.

Civil Disorder

Paul Maynard: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many and what proportion of under-18 year olds arrested for public disorder offences were interviewed by police without either a lawyer or an appropriate adult present.

Nick Herbert: Information on the provision of appropriate adults and lawyers in police interviews of suspects is not reported to the Home Office.

Civil Disorder

Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many people have appeared before Camberwell Green magistrates court charged with an offence related to the public disorder of August 2011;
	(2)  what charges related to the public disorder of August 2011 were brought in cases heard at Camberwell Green magistrates court;
	(3)  what the age was of the (a) youngest and (b) oldest person who appeared before Camberwell Green magistrates court charged with an offence related to the public disorder of August 2011;
	(4)  what proportion of people who appeared before Camberwell Green magistrates court charged with an offence related to the public disorder of August 2011 were under 25 years.

Crispin Blunt: The available information required to answer this question is currently being collated. I will write to the hon. Member as soon as it is available. A copy of this response will be placed in the House Library.

Courts: Witnesses

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many cases were heard in each court in Wales between (a) January and March, (b) April and June and (c) July and September 2011; and on how many occasions in each court a witness failed to attend in each such period.

Jonathan Djanogly: Data on the number of cases completed in the Crown courts of Wales and on the number of completed criminal proceedings in the magistrates courts in Wales by Local Justice Area (LJA) for the first quarter (January to March 2011) and second quarter (April to June 2011) of 2011 can be found in the following tables 1 and table 2 respectively.
	Information about the total number of witnesses failing to attend a trial in the magistrates courts and Crown court is not held centrally, as it is not recorded by court staff electronically as part of their routine daily administrative duties.
	However, information on the number criminal trials which were either ‘ineffective’ (does not commence on due date and is re-listed) or ‘cracked’ (did not commence on the due date and was not listed) due to non-attendance witnesses as the primary reason are centrally collected. Data on the number of ineffective or cracked trials in the Crown court due to the absence of a witness in Wales can also be found in table 1 and similar data for the magistrates court in Wales by LJA can be found in table 2 for the same time periods.
	Completed proceedings and data on cracked and ineffective trials in the magistrates courts are collected at LJA and as a result we are unable to separately identify cases completed at different magistrates courts.
	Data for the third quarter (July to September) is currently unavailable and will be published in January 2012.
	
		
			 Table 1. Number of cases disposed of and ineffective and cracked trials in the Crown courts of Wales, Q1 to Q2 2011 
			  Number of case disposals Ineffective or cracked trials due to non-attendance or withdrawal of witness as primary reason 
			 Court Q1 2011 Q2 2011 Q1 2011 Q2 2011 
			 Cardiff Crown court 957 943 10 13 
			 Merthyr Tydfil combined court centre 310 268 2 4 
			 Mold Crown court + Welshpool Crown court 168 251 0 2 
			 Swansea Crown court 345 290 2 2 
			 Caernarfon Crown court 116 189 1 0 
			 Carmarthen Crown court 132 90 0 1 
			 Haverfordwest Crown court 54 38 1 0 
			 Total 2,082 2,069 16 22 
			 Notes: 1. Disposals are total cases dealt with. 2. Reasons for ineffective or cracked trials are based on the primary reason stated, witness is absent or the “Prosecution end case: witness absent/withdrawn”, these cases represent those trials that did not go ahead due to no witness being present. Source: HM Courts and Tribunals Service CREST system 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 2. Number of completed proceedings of and ineffective and cracked trials in the magistrates courts for the local justice areas (LJAs) in Wales, Q1 to Q2 2011 
			 Local justice area (LJA) Number of completed criminal proceedings Ineffective trials due to lack of witness as primary reason 
			  Q1 2011 Q2 2011 Q1 2011 Q2 2011 
			 Wrexham Maelor 245 1090 13 10 
			 Flintshire 2,204 904 14 5 
			 Denbighshire 780 836 6 9 
			 Conwy 812 707 4 13 
			 Llanelli 875 961 2 3 
			 Ceredigion 339 289 2 1 
			 Carmarthen 687 414 0 0 
			 Dinefwr 353 408 0 0 
			 Gwent 5,290 5134 46 33 
			 Anglesey (Ynys Mòn) 489 377 5 5 
			 Gwynedd 960 718 5 3 
			 Cynon Valley 356 336 4 1 
			 Merthyr Tydfil 953 755 10 5 
			 Miskin 1,828 1352 21 17 
			 Newcastle and Ogmore 1,156 1216 7 14 
		
	
	
		
			 Cardiff 5,115 4801 57 42 
			 Vale of Glamorgan 925 795 10 5 
			 De Brycheiniog 296 254 2 2 
			 Radnorshire and North Brecknock 71 72 0 0 
			 Montgomeryshire 362 310 2 2 
			 Pembrokeshire 595 639 6 0 
			 Neath and Port Talbot 1,610 1314 11 5 
			 Swansea 2,104 1765 5 7 
			 Total 28,405 25,447 232 182 
			 Note: Reasons (or ineffective or cracked trials are based on the primary reason stated, witness is absent or the “Prosecution end case: witness absent/withdrawn”, these cases represent those trials that did not go ahead due to no witness being present. Source: HM Courts and Tribunals Service CREST system Trials, HM Courts and Tribunals Service Performance Database (OPT)

Debt Collection

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much revenue his Department received from (a) summons for debt, (b) liability orders and (c) applications by councils for debt summonses in the last year for which figures are available; and if he will estimate the level of profit over costs arising from each activity.

Jonathan Djanogly: The revenue collected (net income) in the financial year 2010-11 for (a) summons for debt (in the civil county and High Court) was £253.0 million; and (b) liability orders (council and Child Support Agency) was £11.1 million of which £9.8 million relates to council tax liability orders.
	It is not possible to provide the revenue for debt summonses that related to applications issued by councils. This data is not currently captured separately on the case management system in the HMCTS county and High Courts. The revenue collected from councils issuing council tax liability orders (in the magistrates courts) is provided above under point (b).
	The HMCTS published accounts for 2010-11 identified that:
	(a) civil business achieved 99% full cost recovery with a £3.6 million shortfall of which £1.8 million (50%) related to debt summonses; and
	(b) magistrates civil business achieved 94% full cost recovery with a shortfall of £1.2 million.

Prisons: Education

Chris Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what his most recent assessment is of education provision in prisons.

Crispin Blunt: The MOJ and BIS commenced a review of offender learning in England in the summer of 2010. The outcome of the review was published in May 2011 under the title “Making Prisons Work: Skills for Rehabilitation” which is available via:
	http://www.bis.gov.uk/assets/biscore/further-education-skills/docs/m/11-828-making-prisons-work-skills-for-rehabilitation
	Copies have been placed in the House of Commons Library.
	In Wales responsibility for education in prisons was devolved to the Welsh Government in April 2009. In 2010-11 the National Offender Management Service commissioned an in-house needs assessment and gap analysis of the learning and skills provision in public prisons in Wales. This was to ensure delivery and resources meet the learning requirements of the population to improve their employability outcomes.

Apprentices

Stephen Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what measures he has introduced to encourage large employers to recruit apprentices in 2011; how many apprentices have been recruited to such companies; and which companies have taken on apprentices as a result of such measures.

John Hayes: On 6 September 2011 I announced a package of new measures to make it easier for large employers who directly contract with the Skills Funding Agency to take on apprentices. Payments will be simplified, contracts streamlined, and a number of data returns and audit requirements eliminated.
	The National Apprenticeship Service (NAS) has employer service managers who provide account management services to large employers.
	Examples of some of the new contracts include:
	Nordic Pioneer Ltd
	Everest Home Improvements
	The Co-operative
	Kingswood Learning and Leisure
	Between August 2010 and April 2011 over 5,000 large employers (250-5,000 staff) took on a total of 30,000 apprentices. A 50% rise in starts in this category compared to the same period in 2009-10.

Banks

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent discussions he has had with representatives of the banking industry on the role of relationship managers in bank branches.

Mark Prisk: I meet with representatives of the banking industry frequently to discuss a range of issues, including ensuring banks fulfil their commitments set out in the British Bankers Association (BBA) Taskforce, which includes actions to improve customer relationships; and provide better information and promote understanding between banks and customers. Meetings take place both bi-laterally and through fora such as the quarterly Small Business Economic Forum which I chair.

Boats: EU Action

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what position he plans to adopt at the Working Party on Technical Harmonisation on 25 October 2011 in Brussels in respect of the proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on recreational craft and personal watercraft; and what estimate he has made of the potential cost to the UK of the proposed Directive.

Mark Prisk: Officials from this Department and UK Permanent Representative will attend the meeting. They will express support for the broad aims and objectives of the proposal. They will welcome the work undertaken by the European Commission that has been done in identifying areas within the current Recreational Craft Directive that could be improved to provide greater clarity of the obligations imposed by the directive. This will help to reduce undue burdens placed on business (particularly small and medium-sized enterprises), and facilitate cross-border trade. The UK will address those features of the proposal itself that risk being unruly burdensome on the sector and UK operators. While an official impact assessment is still under preparation, one has been prepared by the European Commission that suggests that the advantage for the UK industry is expected to be of the order of £700,000 to £4,200,000 per annum.

Business: Advisory Services

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many business mentors (a) had joined his Department's mentoring network and (b) were available to provide guidance to businesses through the mentoring network on (i) 3 July 2011 and (ii) the most recent date for which figures are available.

Mark Prisk: I refer the hon. Member to the answers I gave on 7 September 2011, Official Report, column reference 713W, and 8 September 2011, Official Report, column reference 796W, regarding information on the number of mentors available through the mentoring network and the publication of such information.
	Mentorsme.co.uk, Britain's first online mentoring gateway, was launched on 4 July 2011 and provides a single point of access for those seeking mentoring and those seeking to be mentors, covering the whole of the UK. We do not have data to answer how many business mentors were available to provide guidance to businesses prior to the launch of the mentoring portal.
	At launch, the portal included approximately 40 mentoring organisations, providing access to around 10,000 mentors and this number continues to grow. Applications from other mentoring organisations who wish to be listed on the portal are currently being screened and more organisations will be added in the coming months as they register interest, providing they meet certain minimum standards. I am determined to maintain the quality of the mentors available through this network and am not willing to compromise this in order to increase the numbers more quickly.
	The launch of the portal is an important first step on the road to making mentoring the norm for businesses, whether starting out or with ambitions to grow.
	We are now working with the British banking Association (BBA) to develop mentorsme.co.uk and to encourage more experienced business people to become volunteer mentors.

Business: Regulation

Michael Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will publish the Beecroft report commissioned by his Department into reducing the burden of regulation on businesses.

Edward Davey: Adrian Beecroft has been asked to contribute his thoughts to Government to support the work on examining the burden of cross-Government employment-related law. This is part of a wider consultation with stakeholders for the Red Tape Challenge. His views will feed into that process, and we do not plan to publish them.

Economic Growth: Olympic Games 2012

Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the modelling of economic growth potential of the Olympic host boroughs contained in the report by Oxford Economics, Six Host Boroughs Strategic Regeneration Framework-Economic Model, published in November 2010.

Mark Prisk: The Department's economic analysts have seen the report from Oxford Economics and consider it a valuable contribution to strategic thinking and planning for the east London area. Officials from the Department have met with representatives from the host boroughs to discuss the report.

Further Education: Refugees

Dominic Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what information his Department holds on the number of people granted refugee status who were claiming full fee remission for English for Speakers of Other Languages courses prior to August 2011.

John Hayes: We do not directly record the number of learners who have been granted refugee status. We do, however, collect information on why a learner has received fee remission for a particular learning aim they undertake. From data we can provide information on learners who are in receipt of full fee remission through being an asylum seeker in receipt of the equivalent of an income-based state benefit, but this should be used with caution given it does not provide a full picture of the range of entitlements that a person has.
	Based on the “fees waived” field in the Individualised Learner Record, in the 2009/10 academic year, the latest year for which final data are available, 7,200 English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) enrolments for adult (19+) learners received fee remission through being an asylum seeker in receipt of the equivalent of an income-based benefit.
	Information on participation on ESOL courses is published in a quarterly statistical first release (SFR). The latest SFR was published on 23 June 2011 at:
	http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/statistics/statisticalfirstrelease/sfr_current

Government Departments: Procurement

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the effect of reductions in central government (a) capital expenditure and (b) procurement of goods on the level of manufacturing output in 2010.

Mark Prisk: Available data and evidence are not yet sufficient to enable BIS to undertake a reliable assessment of the impact on manufacturing output in 2010 at this time. The Government's top priority is to achieve strong, sustainable and balanced growth. Sound public finances are essential for sustainable growth. We are also taking action as set out in the Plan for Growth to create the best possible climate for enterprise and growth in the UK, including action to support advanced manufacturing by encouraging higher levels of innovation, exports, business investment and technical skills as well as cutting excessive red tape.

Higher Education: Birmingham

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many people in Birmingham, Ladywood constituency in each ethnic group (a) applied to enter university and (b) were successful in their application in each of the last five years.

David Willetts: The information is in the following table and has been provided by the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS).
	
		
			 Applicants and accepted applicants domiciled in Birmingham Ladywood  (1 )  constituency by ethnicity  (2) 
			  2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 
			 Ethnic background Applicants Accepted Applicants Accepted Applicants Accepted Applicants Accepted Applicants Accepted 
			 Black, Asian, mixed and other ethnic backgrounds 808 582 892 646 982 728 1,107 779 1,281 613 
			 White 96 72 100 75 101 73 146 103 175 124 
			 Unknown 258 229 232 188 315 263 323 261 202 151 
		
	
	
		
			 Grand total 1,162 883 1,224 909 1,398 1,064 1,576 1,143 1,658 1,088 
			 (1) Birmingham Ladywood constituency has been identified using the home postcode regardless of declared area of permanent residence. 2. While completion of the ethnic origin field is mandatory for those with a declared area of permanent residence in the UK, applicants can indicate that they prefer not to say what their ethnic origin is. Data on the ethnic origin of applicants is not passed to institutions until after the selection process. Where the ethnic origin has not been detailed in this analysis this is recorded as “Unknown”.

Higher Education: Italy

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the outcome was of his meeting with the Italian Minister for Education, Universities and Research to discuss the position of foreign lecturers working at Italian universities.

David Willetts: It is not the normal practice of the Government to disclose details of their discussions with foreign governments.

Manufacturing Industries

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will take steps to encourage growth in manufacturing output; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Prisk: Working with industry, this Government are taking action aimed at increasing growth in manufacturing output in the UK by encouraging higher levels of innovation, exports, business investment and technical skills as well as cutting excessive red tape. The Plan for Growth announced as part of Budget 2011, included a package of measures to stimulate the growth of engineering and advanced manufacturing, including changes to capital allowances, the launch of a High Value Manufacturing Technology and Innovation Centre (TIC) as well as nine new university-based research centres, funding for 10,000 additional higher apprenticeships, and action to promote the image of the sector.
	We are now making good progress on implementing these actions. For example, on 11 October a £140 million investment in the country's first TIC—focused on high value manufacturing—was announced. Between 10 and 21 October the second phase of the automotive pilot of See Inside Manufacturing was also launched. Over 40 world class automotive manufacturers opened their doors allowing teachers, careers advisors and young people to see first hand some of the UK's world-class automotive and motorsport facilities and research centres to raise awareness of the diverse range of careers available. On 14 October, we also announced the new supplier for the reformed Manufacturing Advisory Service which will go live from January 2012 and includes an additional £7 million to deliver supply chain activities over the next three years.
	We will report on the progress of these and other Plan for Growth measures at the time of the autumn statement.

Manufacturing Industries: Finance

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps his Department is taking to encourage investment in the manufacturing industry in (a) England, (b) the West Midlands and (c) the Black Country.

Mark Prisk: Working with business, this Government are taking action to strengthen and grow modern manufacturing in the UK by encouraging higher levels of innovation, exports, business investment and technical skills as well as cutting excessive red tape. The Plan for Growth announced as part of Budget 2011, included a package of measures to stimulate the growth of engineering and advanced manufacturing, including changes to capital allowances, the launch of a High Value Manufacturing Technology and Innovation Centre as well as nine new university-based research centres, funding for 10,000 additional Higher Apprenticeships, and action to promote the image of the sector.
	In addition to these national actions, there are six local enterprise partnerships covering the West Midlands (including one covering the four Black Country local authorities). These business public sector partnerships are focussed on supporting their local businesses through a range of measures which will encourage investment in manufacturing. These include Enterprise Zones (eg i54), local enterprise areas, and business support measures.

Research Councils: Public Appointments

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what criteria his Department uses to make appointments to the governing councils of the research councils.

David Willetts: The parameters of council membership are set out in a Council's Royal Charter, For six of the seven research councils their Royal Charter states that the council must consist of a Chair, a Chief Executive and Deputy Chair, and between 19 and 18 other members. Half of these must be appointed on account of their relevant academic qualifications. The Science and Technology Facilities Council's Royal Charter states that it must consist of a Chair, Chief Executive and from six to 10 other members, of whom no more than a third should be employed members of the council.
	The Royal Charters also state that the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills shall consult each research council Chair about the criteria for particular council member appointments when they arise.
	Within these parameters, and taking in to account the advice of the Chair on the required balance of expertise and experience on council, the selection criteria for new appointments is agreed between the council and the Department. The recruitment process is conducted in accordance with the Code of Practice of the Commissioner for Public Appointments. Vacancies are then advertised for candidates meeting the criteria.

Research Councils: Public Appointments

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what remuneration his Department gives to people serving on the governing councils of the research councils; what expenses may be claimed by such members; and whether such expenses include travel and hotel accommodation.

David Willetts: Eligible council members of the UK's seven Research Councils are .currently entitled to receive an honorarium of £6,850 per annum. Council members who chair boards are entitled to receive a total honorarium of £9,110 per annum. Council chairs are entitled to receive a total honorarium of £16,430 per annum. No honorarium is paid to civil servants or employees of organisations whose funds are derived from votes of Parliament.
	Reasonable expenses incurred in pursuit of Council business can be claimed by Council members. This includes travel and accommodation costs.